Our Beautiful World

The theme this week #77 at Our Beautiful World was selected by Kirsty

HEARTS

 I think my photos this week speak for themselves...

 I set my hearts up amongst the Christmas cards that have arrived....

Please pop over to the team members blogs to see their photos for this week 

Kirsty - Handmade Little Things

Ros - Mikey's Mum

Manuela - Elasdistrict

We would love you to join in and post your themed photos with OBW, enjoy your week Cheers Robyn

Gift Box

 I've made this gift box for a special person and will post it to the Scor-pal #11 challenge.

I used cream card to make the top...

 And this gorgeous double sided designer card to make the box...

 and lined the lid with the offcut. 

 Then used a die cut medallion as a base to a punched and embossed flower, finished with a pearl and some leaves.

Thanks for taking a peek Robyn

"More Than One Score" #11 - Anything Goes with Your Scor-Pal (and More Than One Score)

Friday Smiles

Happy Friday visitors and if you're not sure about Sharing a Smile pop over to Annies blog and read all about it, join in too - can't get enough smiles can we. 

 Oh I am smiling this week....YEAH!!!! I've finished my 25 year quilt - I am impressed with myself, now it adorns the spare bed. Also while I had the machine out I made gorgeous GD Sophie two new Christmas outfits...couldn't resist buying more material when it was on half price sale...so needless to say I have enough stashed for next year.

 

We all know how cats like to find elevated perches....well our two have taken to my ironing board which I've had set up in the lounge with all my sewing going on - before I went to bed Thursday night I found them both balanced on the board asleep.

Cheers and enjoy your weekend Robyn

Things are always better with Coffee

 I haven't made too many cards recently with other things occupying my time and the pressure is on as we leave Sunday for Christmas with our family...and I still wanted to play along with Virginia's View challenge #10 - All Things Distressed. So after a big tidy up this morning I got the mojo happening and with inspiration also from the Coffee Lovers Bloghop I have made this card.  I've used a Flourishes stamp and water coloured it with my Distress Inks - I love using them as you can dilute them down or use them straight or mix colours to suit and then until they dry you're never sure how they'll come out. I added some Dimensional Magic to the coffee mug and some glitter glue to the steam.  Then I mounted them on colour matching layers of card and designer paper and distressed all the edges, wrapped a few strands of cream wool and used foam tape to lift the image.  Then I used bits of a number of stamps to create the sentiment.  I'm quite happy with the card and pleased I'm making something other than Christmas.
Thanks for taking a peek, Robyn

  

What's On Your Workdesk, Wednesday?

 Good afternoon fellow WOYWW-ers from stinking hot Gladstone in Australia....had lots of menacing clouds this week and an almighty storm last night so now with the sun out and temps of 39C or 95F it isn't half humid. Worse storms though in Brisbane with golf  ball size hailstone causing millions of dollars damage.
So here is my desk today with little piles of tools and debris about. I have been making a gift box for a special person...that yellow box with the white lid is my prototype and to the right my mostly finished box.  Just trying to decide on a decoration for the top, that's why there is a pile of punches on the left and dies and scissors on my workpad. Also in the middle resting against my caddy is my final tag for Tim H's 12 tags of 2014 - I'm quite pleased that I actually played along each month.

If you'd like to visit other WOYWW 288 desks, please pop over to Julias blog here and read all about it and join in the fun.  A big thank you to everyone who visited my desk last week and left encouraging comments.
 Have a fabulous week Cheers Robyn

Merry Christmas tag

I'm feeling pretty chuffed with myself today - as I have completed all 12 tags for Tim Holtz 12 Tags for 2014...a challenge I set myself for the year as the tags he puts up each month are quite out of my comfort zone - also using lots of supplies I don't have, I have had to use my creative/inventiveness to achieve a similar end result.  Now in saying that I have certainly stretched my imagination and really enjoyed participating...so maybe I'll be back next year.
Thanks for taking a peek Robyn

Our Beautiful World

For this weeks inspiration at Our Beautiful World  (#76) the prompt is MARKETS, I have  some fun snaps of a couple of local bush or country markets in our region. Most are just ordinary families 

with a passion for their craft or activity and so hold a stall to sell their products.

A variety of seasonal fruit and vegetables, home grown

 

a few bee keepers selling their honey

 

this one selling Jerky (dried meat)

 

and the growing popularity for Organic grown....preserves here

 

Many stalls selling handmade clothing

 

or imported cheap clothing from Asia.

 

This lady caught my eye - all dresses in red with a fur trimmed hat, she was selling Lemon Curd - YUM!!, Pickled Onions, Honey and fruit jams. She'd parked her van under a lovely shady tree and was selling Bromeliads so of course I had to add one to my collection.

The plant stalls are always an attraction for me

This one was selling Carnivorous plants - very intriguing 

In Australia most towns and cities have a huge variety of markets that are held on a regular weekly or monthly basis and I love to check them all out...my favourite would have to me the Mindal Beach Markets held in Darwin, Northern Territory over the 'dry' season - they have the most amazing food stalls from all over the world.

Hope you've enjoyed my walk through the markets where I live, so please pop over to the Our Beautiful World blog to visit the other team members blogs and their Market photos, we'd also love it if you like to join in and share your photos.

Cheers Robyn 

Friday Smiles

Early Saturday morning hugs from Australia, where we are enjoying some wonderful rain - you can hear it in sweeps as it passes over the house .... and we had a guest for dinner last night and I didn't get to post my pics for Friday Smiles #96......
I'm happy this week because hubby is home from 10 days away working, and he's just cooked me breakfast.
Last week I told you I was on a mission to finish my quilt - I  have had the top pieced together for 25 years and I'm not sure how many years I've made it my New Years resolution to finish...this top and backing and border fabrics have traveled many miles with me....
But great news I'm nearly done
This is the quilt last weekend after I had sewn on the two borders

Here on Monday I started the job of machine quilting ....

Finally yesterday morning I had finished the quilting....

And in the afternoon had the binding on and....

Now I only have to hand stitch the binding.....YEAH YEAH YEAH

So you can just imagine how happy I am - I'll be smiling lots next week when it's finished.

OOOOPS I did have a little accident...don't laugh - I've left my mark for sure at this rental property!!!!

Thanks for visiting and if you'd like to know more and join in - please visit Annies blog  here.

Cheers and enjoy your weekend Robyn

ps..Annie wondered why I was ironing on the floor....I had turned the iron off and was about to use the board to help support all the fabric next to me at the machine and I pulled the cord and the warm iron landed face down on the acrylic carpet, didn’t take much to melt it

What's On Your Workdesk, Wednesday?

Afternoon from my messy room.....out on display for WOYWW #287. ....want to know more about WOYWW pop over to Julia's blog to read all about it and join.  I didn't even realize it was Wednesday until a few minutes ago - the days are whizzing by so quickly, just 3 weeks to Christmas eve.   

Well all the mess is because I had to get my cards filled out and sent and happily most went in the post today with only six or so to go. Look at that room, just a skinny walkway to my desk. Not sure why all those boxes are out of the cupboard and papers all over the floor but it must've had something to do with addresses...I'm a terror for not having an address book...so believe it or not there it is - that open book on the top left of my work pad... I wrote it up as I went this year.....yeah at last. The rest on the desk is the debris from the card writing,.. pile of cards, envelopes, inserts (got lazy this year and printed them on the computer), tape and pen.

 Then I did have a break from all that concentrating and have been busy at the dining room table - now a mess too, to clean up....been making Sophie (GD) a couple of Christmas dresses and they had to be posted too

 

Daughter sent me these phone pics today

Off to do some desk hopping now, and a big thank to all those lovely people who dropped by over the last week, thanks again for taking a peek today, Robyn

Calendar card

I have finished another Calendar card for the Scor-pal challenge #10

"More Than One Score" Challenge #10 - Family/Thanksgiving.

These will be for my family when we visit in the New Year. Designer paper makes them easy to put together also to make use of those tags/sentiments included in the 6x6 packs....this one is very pretty and I think my mum will like it. I am going to add a ribbon hanger to the back of the vertical front and a strip of double sided tape to hold the front to the base so it can be used as a hanging calendar; this should help it lay flat on the wall.  

Thanks for taking a peek Robyn